Blight Remediation Underway At Shenandoah Woods

WARMINSTER TOWNSHIP, PA — Blight remediation is underway at Shenandoah Woods, township officials said.

For several decades, the U.S. Navy provided housing for service members at the 199 attached houses at Shenandoah Woods off Bristol Road.

Following the closure, the Navy abandoned the houses, streets and infrastructure, with the neighborhood falling into disrepair and becoming an eyesore.

Township Manager Tom Scott said the Navy and Defense Department had left the Warminster community with one of the largest blighted residential areas in the Philadelphia region.

Now, blight remediation is transforming the property after the vast U.S. Naval Air Station was closed by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC), township officials said.

With additional funds supplied by Pennsylvania and Congress (with the 2022 Omnibus Spending Bill), the additional demolition and removal of infrastructure and impervious surface is taking place with the Bucks County Redevelopment Authority and F.R. Beinke Wrecking.

The blight remediation will also allow the township to improve storm water management and vital stream recharging which will benefit the entire area, Scott said.

"With additional funding from the state, we will continue to work on this project and in the not-too-distant future add these 50+ acres to our parks system," Scott added.

After years of ignoring the problem, the Federal Government finally provided for action. The American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) was adopted by Congress in 2021 to help local governments recoup revenue lost due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Biden Administration awarded the municipal government of Warminster Township with $3.4M and the Board of Supervisors determined the funds would be used for capital projects, with ending the blight at Shenandoah Woods at the top of the list.

Working with the Bucks County Redevelopment Authority, Warminster Township publicly bid the demolition work and spent $1,964,000 in 2022 to remove the houses and slabs.

Township officials are reminding residents to respect the No Trespassing signs on the property.

“This completed project will be a stellar moment for the residents of Warminster when it is opened and we look forward to the completion of this vital phase of this monumental project,” said Kenneth Hayes, chairman of the Warminster Township Board of Supervisors.